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An Open Letter To Mr. Isaac Larian, President And C.E.O. Of MGA Entertainment, Inc. By: Robyn Barnette
Dear Mr. Isaac Larian and the many wonderful people at MGA Entertainment, Inc.: When your company introduced the Bratz dolls in 2001, nobody ever anticipated that this product would become the outstanding phenomenon it is today. Your company did not just create a product — it created a revolution that would change the toy industry for many years and decades to come. What MGA Entertainment, Inc. has created with Bratz is nothing short of incredible, and it is impossible for me to describe to you how your product has changed my life and the lives of millions of children around the world. Had it not been for Mr. Carter Bryant's creation while working for that "other" toy company, and had it not been for Paula Treantafelles, your company would not be the successful company it is today. Moreover, your company would not be the successful company it is today without us, the Bratz faithful, supporting the ONLY girls with a passion for fashion and the original four girls that started it all: Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha, and Jade. Unfortunately, Mr. Larian, the franchise that started out as the "next big thing" when Mr. Bryant introduced his concept drawings to you now suddenly finds itself at a crossroads. 2007 was, without a doubt, the worst year ever in the Bratz franchise. Many Bratz fans such as myself do not want to relive it ever again. The domino effect began when the Bratz Fashion Pixiez were released. This collection could have been one of the greatest Bratz collections ever released in the company's history. Sadly, when you succumbed to the pressure of one retailer's offense to one color, you also succumbed to the pressure of an entire fanbase's offense to the collection itself. The Bratz Fashion Pixiez was considered by many in the Bratz community as one of the most shockingly insulting and disappointing Bratz collections of all time. It was as though MGA Entertainment, Inc. did not try hard enough to create a product that would elevate the company to a standard no other company — not even that "other" toy company — would surpass. What's more, many of the other Bratz collections that MGA Entertainment, Inc. released in 2007 were just as bad: Bratz Hot Summer Dayz, Bratz Fashion Show, and Bratz Star Singerz, among others. These collections were painful to look at whenever I went to the Bratz aisles at all the major retailers I visited. It was not just a matter of a dedicated Bratz fan like myself comparing these newer Bratz collections to the older and previously released collections — it was the fraudulent quality that had many in the Bratz community throwing up their hands in disgust and simply giving up on being Bratz fans. I can understand the newer Bratz fans being enticed by Bratz Star Singerz, Bratz Movie Starz, Bratz Magic Make-Up, Bratz Birthday 3rd Edition, etc. But in reality, THAT is all they're enjoying....and forgetting everything that came before it — everything that was ten times better than what's on store shelves now. Of course, not every Bratz collection released in 2007 was a disappointment: You had a few bright spots with Bratz Flower Girlz, a collection that emphasized the importance of global warming and helping the environment. And the Bratz Kidz collections such as Horseback Fun and Winter Vacation demonstrated your creativity and innovation — two attributes that are the pillars of MGA Entertainment, Inc.'s strength as a company. The Bratz Kidz collections are among my most favorite, and I look forward to seeing your company release many more Bratz Kidz collections in the future. Still, that does not take away the fact that 2007 was a horrendous year for Bratz. The Bratz Fashion Pixiez debacle was only a harbinger of things to come: In April 2007, 4Kids.TV canceled the "Bratz" animated television series. This television series made watching Saturday morning cartoons fun again. I always looked forward to watching the adventures of Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha, and Jade scooping stories for their teen magazine. It was an exciting experience to wake up each Saturday morning and tune in to see how these girls with a passion for fashion competed against Your Thing magazine and its (self-proclaimed) "reigning queen of fashion" Burdine Maxwell to see which magazine would get the story first. What I really loved the most about the animated television series was the computer animation. Mike Young Productions knew the vision they wanted to accomplish with "Bratz," and they went above and beyond everyone's expectations. I will never understand why MGA Entertainment, Inc. entered an agreement with 4Kids Entertainment, Inc., an organization that abhorred your Bratz franchise from the very beginning, to broadcast this animated television series. What 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. did to "Bratz" was nothing short of appalling — and all because it supports that "other" toy company. Months later, MGA Entertainment, Inc. and Lions Gate Entertainment, Inc. released the first live-action theatrical motion picture "Bratz: The Movie." I was expecting this movie to be dumb and silly fun, and it was. At the same time, the movie also contained a positive message about being yourself and standing out, and I got a lot more out of this movie than I thought I would. I found "Bratz: The Movie" to be very enjoyable, but that sentiment was not shared by most movie critics who saw the movie: "Bratz: The Movie" was slammed with negative reviews all around and grossed a paltry $9.6 million during its entire theatrical run in the United States. In addition, and perhaps as an added insult to injury, a Regal Cinemas movie theater complex near where I live yanked the movie four days after it was released. Shortly after that, Bratz Magazine ceased publication in the United States. Publisher and distributor Titan Magazines officially ceased publication of Bratz Magazine on August 7, 2007, citing that the company was not making money with the magazine. Conventionally, when sales of a magazine are bad, there is no other option except to stop publishing any further issues and cease publication altogether. As of this writing, there are no plans to restart a new version of Bratz Magazine with a different publication and distribution company, since many of them are staying away from a product they consider sleazy. As the President and CEO of MGA Entertainment, Inc., Mr. Larian, what do you have to say about what happened to Bratz in 2007? What is there to say? Can you look back at what has happened to Bratz in 2007 and conclude that your company has done a great job? Can you compare the state of the Bratz franchise back in 2001 with where it is now and stick with the losing plan of operation that your company has adopted? Can you look at the decrepit quality and reputation of the Bratz dolls and declare that this is what consumers want to purchase more of? I believe consumers, including Bratz fans around the world and beyond, have already answered those questions. And their response is an overwhelming and resounding, "No. Enough is enough, and we are not going to take it anymore. We will not buy another Bratz doll until you clean up your act." It is time to get real about Bratz. This franchise is dying, and many Bratz fans are frustrated to the point where they're abandoning Bratz altogether — some of them going back to Barbie. People are unhappy with Bratz. REALLY unhappy, to the point of tears. While your company has been working hard to put a positive perspective on Bratz, it certainly cannot keep you from seeing at least some of the sales figures of your Bratz collections. Have any of your employees at MGA Entertainment, Inc. visited the Bratz aisles at any of the major retailers? Do you know what they see? They see stacks of Bratz dolls sitting on store shelves collecting dust. Do they even care about Bratz? Do YOU even care? I think that many of your designers do not give a damn about Bratz anymore, because they don't feel they have to — they just want to work at MGA Entertainment, Inc. for the money. As if that is not enough, your company has made numerous changes to Bratz to make the brand more family-friendly and wholesome. Have these changes worked? Absolutely not: Parents are still refusing to purchase Bratz dolls for their children. The changes your company has made to Bratz have not worked for parents, and they especially have not worked for the millions of other consumers who purchase your products everyday — including me. Here's the solution: Reintroduce what made Bratz successful prior to 2007. Think of it as what happened with Crystal Pepsi in 1992: Crystal Pepsi was an innovative idea — in theory. PepsiCo, Inc. claimed that because Crystal Pepsi was "clear," it was somehow more effective, more advanced, and, well, better. In the end, however, Crystal Pepsi looked like a poor imitation of 7UP and tasted nothing like Pepsi. The idea flopped, and PepsiCo, Inc. went back to the drawing board and brought the original Pepsi back. You most certainly can do the same thing with your Bratz franchise, can't you? Instead of walking into the Bratz showroom at Toy Fair 2008/2009/2010/20?? and announcing to everyone in attendance something like, "Bratz is no longer the future for MGA Entertainment," we can help Bratz always and forever be the future for MGA Entertainment, Inc. and save this franchise from sinking into the depths of extinction. A brief list of suggestions:
The list goes on and on, but the moral of the story is this: It is time for Bratz to go back to the basics and go back to what made the franchise successful in the first place. Why fix what was not broken to begin with? Mr. Larian, the major issue of this open letter to you is the utter embarrassment that has befallen upon the Bratz franchise, as a direct result of the shameless and calamitous behavior of MGA Entertainment, Inc. Your company has not only conjured up every excuse ever written to blame others for its misfortunes, but it has also repeatedly made weak apologies to everyone promising to reverse the mistakes it has made with Bratz. We, the Bratz faithful, have stood united in doing everything in our power to help MGA Entertainment, Inc. save our beloved Bratz franchise, because we deserve better from a company whose fundamental purpose is to provide its customers the most creative and innovative consumer entertainment products manufactured in the toy industry. Unfortunately, MGA Entertainment, Inc. has ignored its responsiblity as a corporation, refusing to take any action and refusing to listen to anyone, because it thinks it knows better than the customers whom it markets Bratz to. In fact, MGA Entertainment, Inc. seems to be focused on a new "next big thing," whatever that may be, instead of wasting time on the present with Bratz. Your company feels that it has accomplished everything with Bratz, from dolls and playsets, to music CDs and DVD movies, to theatrical motion picture releases, to video games, to online social networking communities, to just about anything and everything else with the Bratz name on it. Now it appears that your company wants to bury the Bratz franchise while there is still a pulse left, and its recent Bratz product offerings reflect that. I do have hope for the Bratz franchise, and my hope is that you do the right thing by fixing everything that is wrong with Bratz and making changes that bring Bratz back to what it once was and what it once used to be — but more importantly, what Bratz was meant to be. Bratz has always been, and always and forever will be, the future for MGA Entertainment, Inc. It's up to you, Mr. Larian, to make that a reality and save Bratz from extinction. I hate to see Bratz come to an end. However, at the rate this franchise is going, the end of Bratz is coming much sooner than we think. Good luck. Sincerely, P.S.: FUCK MATTEL (a.k.a. the "other" toy company) "The object of this competition is not to be mean to the losers but to find a winner. The process makes you mean because you get frustrated. Kids turn up unrehearsed, wearing the wrong clothes, singing out of tune and you can either say, 'Good job,' and patronize them or tell them the truth, and sometimes the truth is perceived as mean." | |||
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